On the Road to Find Out, by Rachel Toor

Alice Davis has problems.  She's at the top of her class, is the only child of wealthy, driven parents (one's a doctor, one's a lawyer), and she only has two friends in the world, one of whom is her pet rat.  In Rachel Toor's novel, On the Road to Find Out, Alice steps out the door for a New Year's Day run and ends up on a road to self-discovery.

On a bit of a whim, Alice makes a new year's resolution to start running.  It's painful and embarrassing but she ends up liking it.  Many runners can relate to how she feels once she gets in the groove:

I didn't expect to like it so much.  Sometimes it's hard to get out the door.  When I don't feel like going, I can find a whole lot of other things to do. . . . I tell myself it will still count if I only go for ten minutes.  Once I'm out, and I'm running, I start to feel good.  It's like I have to trick myself into doing it, but when I do, I am happy to keep going.  

She ends up taking a part-time job at her mom's friend's running store, gets involved with the local running community, and meets a cute boy who's a top-notch runner.

The culture of running is woven through On the Road to Find Out, but that is only the backdrop of the story.  This is not a book for runners only.  It's primarily a book about a teenage girl's coming to grips with becoming herself, and trying to figure out what drives her.  Having been rejected by Yale, her dream school, and, subsequently a handful of other top colleges, she is forced to reevaluate her dreams.

Toor's characters tend to be a bit stereotypical (the brainy loner, the overbearing professional parents, the loyal best friend), but she goes beyond the stereotypes and brings them together nicely.  Toor captures the troubled teenage girl mind and provides positive adult role models.  The story is touching, the romance is believable and not overdone, and I was happy to see Alice's growth throughout the story.  Plus, I learned all I ever wanted to know about the joys of having a pet rat!

Toor's target audience may be teen girls, but I'm a middle-aged man and liked it.  (What does that say about me??)  Also, runners and non-runners alike will enjoy this story.  But a word of warning: you might just be tempted to don some running shoes and join Alice in her resolution!



Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!